


Where I (Briefly) Hold Your Hand

by crowkag



Series: Number 43 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bullying, Crush at First Sight, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-25 22:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17734178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crowkag/pseuds/crowkag
Summary: “You’re not really Princess Leia, are you?”A small, concerned laugh that definitely wasn’t Carrie Fisher’s. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I was?”“She doesn’t seem the sort to say dude.”Another laugh, less hesitant this time, and then Peter was throwing up, vision going blank.





	Where I (Briefly) Hold Your Hand

“Please say you want some help.”

Peter blinked, stopped staring at his whitened fingers splayed against the hallway linoleum. Saliva pooled thick in his mouth and his stomach _hurt_ , but he forced himself to look up. Spots went dashing in his vision, black and white and waltzing with each other.

When the daze cleared (he was careful not to shake his head), the first thing he saw was Princess Leia, blaster in hand, her face softened by sunlight coming from _somewhere_.

_Alright, if I’m hallucinating then... this is awesome_.

“Yeah, no. I’m definitely here, man.”

_Shit, did I say that out loud_?

“Yes.” And then Leia was obscured by a hand reaching down, Peter’s eyes going a bit crossed trying to look at it. Math equations were scribbled in pen on the palm.

Or were there two hands? Crap, he did _not_ feel good.

It was probably against his better judgement to allow himself to be pulled off the floor, but was that throb behind his brow from his spider senses or from the kick he’d taken to the face? He guessed it didn’t matter much, now. His fingers were already wrapped up by another’s. That palm covered in numbers was very warm.

“Alright, and… up -” Peter was yanked a little too fast for comfort, his stomach churning, “- we go.” Both (Not) Leia and Peter stumbled a bit at the brief imbalance of weight, and Peter squeezed his eyes shut tight at the sudden movement.

“Shit, dude. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pull that hard.” Peter let his arm be rested against the back of a neck. He shook his head (big mistake) and refused to open his eyes.

“You’re not really Princess Leia, are you?”

A small, concerned laugh that definitely wasn’t Carrie Fisher’s. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I was?”

“She just doesn’t seem the sort to say dude.”

Another laugh, less hesitant this time, and then Peter was throwing up, vision going blank.

\---

He woke up with a pillow cradling his head and a flower-patterned curtain blocking the sun. The textured ceiling panels above him looked just as they did anywhere else at Midtown, so he was still in school. Good.

Maybe it was a _bit_ fucked up that Peter’s thoughts instantly went to _was I drugged and kidnapped_ , but in what he referred to as “his line of work,” one could never be too careful.

There was the sound of a clipboard being put down, and then the sharp clicking noise of heels on flooring. A shadow moved outside the drape, and Peter held his breath a bit as the curtain was pulled back slightly, making a metal-against-metal scraping sound. The school nurse’s head poked through the gap.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Miss Fletcher’s lined face crinkled into a smile, the skin about her eyes bunching up in the corners. Her greying brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

Peter attempted a small smile back and began to sit up. Immediately, the kind look disappeared off the nurse’s face and was replaced by something stern and motherly. “Nope, don’t you move. You’ve had a number done on you, dear. Someone’s on the way to come get you, so you just sit tight.”

Peter didn’t go to lay back down, just stayed where he was with his elbows supporting his weight. “Did my aunt leave the hospital?”

He saw Miss Fletcher’s eyes widen a bit and knew what the general gist of her answer would be. “Oh! No, honey. We called your aunt’s work and got ahold of her fast. She's worried but she’s very busy at the moment. Your… _second_ emergency contact is on his way.”

Peter sighed and let his head hit the pillow. He could feel the nurse’s eyes on him, her gaze softening with concern. The curtain was pulled back slightly more, enough for her to be shown completely.

“Is that alright, Peter? Do you feel comfortable with that? We can call your aunt again and insist that she come.”

Peter furrowed his brow a bit. The pain in his head was dull and distant now, as was everything else, thanks to his healing factor. “Nah, everything’s fine. It’s just, May is more calm about stuff like this. Mister Stark -” Miss Fletcher made a small noise of surprise that Peter elected to ignore, “- might be a bit more… _who did this to you_ , about it.” A moment of silence passed, something hard hanging in the air that Peter decided to dispel with a soft laugh. He waved a hand, gesturing to his chest and stomach.

“Maybe if the bruises are bad enough he’ll take me for ice cream.”

Miss Fletcher’s voice went back to tough around the edges, perhaps a bit shocked. “Now, Peter-”

Before he could be told _don’t make light of a situation like this_ , the bell rang from the hallway. Fourth period was over, or… maybe not. What time was it, anyways? There wasn’t a clock anywhere nearby.

“Miss Fletcher?” The nurse’s name was called by a voice that sounded somewhat familiar. Miss Fletcher gave Peter another rigid look, _you better not move_ , and then was off, the curtain falling away from her hand and swaying a bit before becoming still.

It wouldn’t be hard to eavesdrop, but Peter ended up just closing his eyes and blocking off any excess noises. The distant, almost muted sound of hallway chatter and hundreds of different footsteps nearly had him lulling off, until the curtain around his bed was pulled back again. A guy that Peter swore he knew was standing over him, one backpack strap slung over his shoulder. Peter pushed himself onto the flats of his arms as the newcomer began to speak.

“Hey, man. You good?”

He had dark, curly hair and freckles, and was wearing a letterman’s jacket over a grey T-shirt a size too big. Peter blinked stupidly and opened his mouth.

“Hi.”

The guy quirked a brow, a small smile tugging at his lips. The teeth that peeked through had blue braces on them.

“Hello. Just, uh… wanted to check in on you.”

Peter continued to stare, eyes a little too wide. “Check in?” He felt dumb, warm in his cheeks and ears.

“Yeah, man. You kinda blacked out on me, so…” The face Peter made in reaction must have looked funny, because suddenly the guy laughed. It wasn’t mean, just a little surprised and… too _recent_ in Peter’s memory. When it clicked, Peter was sitting bolt upright, ignoring how dizzy it made him.

Newcomer took a quick step forward, free hand beginning to rise. “Woah, dude. Be care-”

“I threw up on you, didn’t I?” Peter’s face was _definitely_ red at this point. The guy stopped short, legs a little bent, fingers reaching. His eyes looked as big as Peter’s felt. Then he moved back to his original position. He seemed hesitant to speak now, but his body language was collected.

“Well, yeah. You did, on my Star Wars shirt. But it’s cool. Miss Fletcher gave something to change into, so…”

“And I asked if you were Princess Leia.” That got Newcomer smiling.

“Yep.”

Peter made an embarrassed groan at the back of his throat and buried his face in his hands. He knew his voice would be muffled by the meat of his palms, but he spoke anyway. “ _Shit_ , dude. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I said it was cool, yeah?” The smile in Newcomer’s voice made Peter look up through the cracks between his fingers. A steady thrum of silence came wafting it, and it wasn’t as awkward as Peter would have expected. Newcomer broke it, adjusting his book bag strap.

“My name is Caleb, by the way.” Peter smiled and raised his head.

“Peter.”

“And I’m Tony.”

Both boys startled and Caleb turned around on his heel, moving sideways and away from Peter almost instantly, a shocked quiet coming over him.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I? Besides introductions, of course.” Mister Stark had his hands in his pockets, standing a few feet away from Peter’s bed. He maneuvered a bit to look past the gap in his mentee’s curtain.

“Pete, glad to see you’re awake.” He nodded his head and Peter rolled his eyes, beginning to swing his legs over the bedside. Miss Fletcher must have left the office, or else nail-polished fingers would be pushing him back down. He stood and started looking for his Converse.

“Caleb, was it?” Tony extended a hand. “Tony Stark. I’d keep it at just Tony but people seem to find my name more impressive when _Stark_ is on the end.” Peter resisted rolling his eyes a second time, kneeling to pick up his shoes, which were by one of the bed’s metal support poles.

“What did we say about the eye rolling, kid?”

Peter scoffed and straightened up. “Hey, I stopped myself that time.” He plopped down in a chair and began pulling on his sneakers. He didn’t miss how Mister Stark was watching him closely, analyzing how he moved. This was going to be a long car ride.

Caleb was still staring at the billionaire's hand, not sure if he should take it. Tony sniffed, his facial features firmly set.

“I’m not being an ass, am I? My CEO says I need to get better about different greetings.” Caleb started at that.

“Uh, yes. I mean, no. I mean… yes, I can shake hands.”

Peter smiled down at his laces as he tied them. He was used to how other people reacted to Mister Stark by this point. It made him think of how he used to be around the man, and how different their relationship was now. The sound of palm meeting palm and the short, subsequent shaking accompanied Peter as he stood up.

“Alright, I just need to get stuff from my locker before we can check out.”

Caleb tore his eyes away from the floor and looked at Peter, seeming to forget in that instant that Tony was even there. “Oh, about your books." He swung his backpack around to his front and unzipped the biggest pocket, putting his hand inside and pulling out a binder and a textbook. Peter recognized his messy scrawl on the side of the binder and stepped forward, reaching out to take the two items.

“Did I drop these?”

Caleb nodded, moving his backpack around again and squeezing both straps tightly. “You need to get a book bag, man.”

“Tell me about it.”

Behind his glasses, Tony glanced between both boys a few times and then drew himself up. “Let’s get going, Pete.” He ruffled his kid’s hair and started walking toward the office exit. Peter smiled at Caleb once more and followed, feeling the other teenager's gaze on both their backs as they left.

\---

The car ride was blissfully silent for the first few minutes or so, but Peter knew what was coming. Mister Stark’s knuckles were slightly blanched as he gripped the steering wheel. In the passenger seat, Peter stared out the window, drumming his fingers and thumb on his thigh.

_Let’s just get it over with_.

Clearly, Mister Stark was a mind reader, because when they stopped at the next red light he turned down his music and faced the teenager beside him.

“So. Who was it?”

Peter took a breath and let it out slowly.

“Nobody important.”

“No, none of that. I want names.”

“So you can make their lives difficult?”

“So I can make sure _this_ -” Mister Stark waved his hand, motioning to Peter, “- doesn’t happen again.”

Peter remained silent. The light turned green and Tony continued driving, but he didn’t stop talking.

“May called me the moment she hung up with your school. Bruises, Pete? Throwing up and then blacking out?” Peter flinched, remembering. “That’s not your average teasing, kid. That’s violence.”

“Yes, Mister Stark, I’m aware of the word.”

Tony inhaled so hard that his chest expanded noticeably. His exhale was sharp and through his nose. “You’re Spider-Man.”

“Mister-”

“Nope, quiet until I’m done.” He flicked on his left turn signal and spun the wheel. “I can deal with you getting punched on patrol. I don’t _like_ it, but it’s gonna happen. I just need to be prepared for it. But in school, Pete? That’s a different issue.”

“I don’t know their names.”

Tony sighed, tasting the lie in the air, then fell silent. After a beat, he rumbled his car to a stop along the side of the road and turned the music off entirely. Peter expected a more serious tone, but instead, Mister Stark’s voice was softer.

“You’re a good kid, Pete, you know that?” The teenager looked down at his shoes at the unexpected sentimentality, becoming very interested in the skin around his fingernails.

“You don’t want those kids to get in trouble, right? Suspended or expelled? Correct me if I’m putting words in your mouth.”

Peter just shook his head. Tony got what he meant.

“Thing is, I want Midtown to be an okay place for you. You need haunts like that. Trust me.” Peter continued to stare at his feet. Tony didn’t even try getting him to look up, just ruffled his curls.

“If this happens again, someone’s gotta put their foot down. May and I, we’re gonna be that someone, understand?”

Peter was quiet. Tony checked his mirrors and drove back onto the road, turning up the music again.

He’d been a part of Peter’s life long enough to know that prying would get him nowhere right now. The kid was stubborn, yes, but he was also a good person. Too good, sometimes, but who was he to try and take that away from Peter? Nobody had that right, as far as Tony was concerned.

The ride continued in silence for a while, before Peter took a loud breath and looked up.

“Caleb helped me get to the nurse’s office, by the way.”

Tony smiled. “Did he? Well, I should’ve shaken his hand longer.”

“He’s cool, Mister Stark.” Tony glanced sideways at Peter, a knowing look appearing on his face. He saw how the tips of Peter’s ears were red. He chose not to say anything.

For now, at least.

“So, ice cream?”

Peter laughed. “Yes, please.”

**Author's Note:**

> me? not posting since September? it's more likely than you think. 
> 
> so yea. this introduces one of my Marvel OCs, Caleb! his power is the ability to steal Peter's heart
> 
> I honestly do project onto the Spidey boy a lot, sorry bud


End file.
